Naseeruddin Shah Invites Right-Wing Ire, UP Outfit Sends Him a Ticket to Karachi

NEW DELHI: The Hindu right-wing forces of the country seem to be running an underground travel agency, as they keep providing people with tickets to Pakistan, perhaps, for promotional purposes. The latest recipient of such a ticket is acclaimed actor Naseeruddin Shah.

According to a Times of India report, a Lucknow-based fringe outfit, Uttar Pradesh Navnirman Sena, claimed to have booked a flight ticket to Karachi for Shah, and asked him to leave on August 14 – Pakistan’s Independence Day – if he “is scared in India”.

This comes in the wake of Shah’s interview on Monday with Karwan-e-Mohabbat. During this interview, he had remarked: “In many regions we are witnessing that the death of a cow has more significance than that of a police officer.” He also opined that there is complete impunity for those who take the law into their own hands. “And I feel that every right-thinking person should feel angry, not scared,” he added.

The comment comes against the backdrop of violence over suspicion of cow slaughter in Bulandshahr earlier this month.

On December 3, a mob allegedly led by Bajrang Dal had clashed with the police, and the ensuing gunfire reportedly killed a police official. According to reports, Additional Superintendent of Police (Rural) Raees Akhtar had recently said that the cow killers are the top priority of the police, and that the murder and the rioting case is on the backburner.

Shah has been receiving flak for his comment on the Bulandshahr episode from the Hindu nationalist sections of the society. Following the protests against him, the organisers of the Ajmer Literature Festival on Friday cancelled a session where the 68-year-old actor was to deliver a keynote speech. Hindustan Times quoted Somratan Arya, a member of the organising committee, as saying, “We cancelled the session after the vandalism. We were concerned about our guest’s safety.” However, the organisers have not filed a complaint regarding vandalism, said the report.

Shah, however, defended his earlier remark on Friday, according to an ANI report. He said, “I am expressing concerns about the country I love, the country that is my home. How is that a crime?”

Since the Right-wing nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power at the Centre in 2014, the trend of protests against and condemnation of critical voices has seen an incline, and ‘Pakistani’ has become an antonym of ‘nationalist’. Earlier, Hindi film actor Aamir Khan, too, was targeted along with his wife for his comment on “rising intolerance” in the country, and were asked to “move to Pakistan”.